I was a fan of the show for its first few years, well into its syndication on the A&E Network. I liked that the stories demanded I pay attention lest I lose one of the clever turns. The chemistry shared by the actors working on either side of he ampersand (the “law” of the police detectives and the “order” of the DA’s office) was unmatched, even though there were occasional replacements. Of course, the “doink doink” at the beginning of every episode was a call to action, even if it came at 3 o’clock in the morning after I had come off an evening shift at work. I’m pretty sure that L&O was a big reason I didn’t get to bed before 4 AM most nights I worked second shift.

Of course, fans of the show shouldn’t feel all that bad. There are at least three or four near-identical clones out there in Law and Order: Special Victim Unit, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Law and Order: Los Angeles, Law and Order: Mall Cop Patrol, and Law and Order: B-List Character Actor Cameo Squad. So if you’re looking for carbon-copy crime dramas with a healthy dollop of left-wing propaganda, you can still get your fill.

[…] Jimmie Bise, captain of The Sundries Shack precinct station, looks on the bright side: Of course, fans of the show shouldn’t feel all that bad. There are at least three or four near-identical clones out there in Law and Order: Special Victim Unit, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Law and Order: Los Angeles, Law and Order: Mall Cop Patrol, and Law and Order: B-List Character Actor Cameo Squad. So if you’re looking for carbon-copy crime dramas with a healthy dollop of left-wing propaganda, you can still get your fill. […]